Let's Watch 2 Movies

Maddy and Mary Ellen watched The Cabin in the Woods, and they deem it to be... fine. The movie's got a couple funny bits, a couple scary bits, and a couple satirical bits, but not quite enough of each of these to make this movie a comedy, a horror, or a satire. It's kind of like this joke about the Black Eyed Peas from The Office (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiI4lvRbLkU), which we refer to in the episode, for some reason.

We do realize this movie means a lot to people, though, so in spite of not quite seeing the appeal, we put on our analysis hats and talk about horror movie tropes and the larger metaphor in the film about Hollywood movie execs, directors, and the ancient beings (a.k.a. moviegoers) that allegedly strike fear in Hollywood's heart.

Next week, we pair this movie with another meta-commentary on horror movies: The Final Girls!

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Much like Batman v Superman, Captain America: Civil War feels stuck in 2016. Remember a year ago, when Steve Rogers' mistrust of institutions made sense but it still seemed like he was taking it a bit too far? Now it's 2017, and Maddy and Mary Ellen can totally see his side. We just want to run away with our brainwashed boyfriend Bucky and escape all of this.

This episode is long. Do we need to keep saying that? Anyway, tune in as Maddy spends way too much time talking about all the Avengers comics she has read, and Mary Ellen talks about the tiny personal moments in this film that make it more emotionally accessible than Batman v Superman.

Lastly, here's the essay that Maddy mentions during an aside in the episode: https://sublimezoo.com/2016/05/17/black-fictional-lives-matter-too-black-pain-black-death-civil-war/

Email us feedback at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter at letswatchtwo, maryellenmurr and MIDImyers! Lastly, please consider tipping us via Patreon: patreon.com/atomicblueproductions

In 2016, two superhero movies hit cinemas: one from DC and one from Marvel. Both featured ensemble casts and questions about how the government should legislate superpowers. We're talking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain America: Civil War.

It's only been a year, but these movies already feel dated as heck. First up, Maddy and Mary Ellen look at DC's gritty take on Batman and Superman's showdown, featuring too many dream sequences, ableist side plots, and spurious definitions of masculinity. We watched the Ultimate edition, which purports to make more sense than the theatrical cut, but we don't see how. Next week: Civil War!

Email us feedback at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter at letswatchtwo, maryellenmurr and MIDImyers! Lastly, please consider tipping us via Patreon: http://patreon.com/atomicblueproductions

Swiss Army Man, also known as The Harry Potter Farting Corpse Movie, might seem like an unusual pairing for Mad Max: Fury Road. But this movie is also about a man lost in the wilderness seeking something to live for... or someone. And that someone is Mr. Harry Potter Farting Corpse. But seriously though, there's a lot more to this movie than jokes about bodily functions. It's also about death (mostly suicide), figuring out what it is to be alive, and falling in love. Maddy and Mary Ellen talked about this movie for three hours, so there's gotta be something to it, right?

Email us at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at letswatchtwo!

At long last, Mary Ellen and Maddy have reached the end of their three-part meditation on the merits of Mad Max: Fury Road. Also, our apologies for Maddy's audio quality lowering a bit for a brief section near the beginning of this episode. Thanks for your patience on that. Also for your patience regarding the fact that we just put out three episodes about only one movie.

In the conclusion of LW2M's trio of Fury Road eps, Maddy and Mary Ellen discuss Max and Furiosa's chemistry, the hero worship of dictators (both in fiction and the real world), George Miller's criticism of machismo, the meaning behind the movie's final title card, and the fact that Mad Max: Fury Road is good. It's good! IT'S A GOOD MOVIE. We repeat that, several times, just to be sure you all got it.

Next week: Swiss Army Man!!

Maddy and Mary Ellen continue on their three-part journey through Fury Road, as the pathway turns from sand to swamp for our heroes. We watch as Max and Furiosa grow into their parental roles for the weird family of escapees from Immortan Joe's oppressive influence. Mary Ellen coins the term "Dad Max" to describe this phenomenon. More comparisons to Handmaid's Tale also ensue, as well as comparisons to The Hunger Games. You know what comparison doesn't come up? Swiss Army Man. Not yet, anyway. But we'll get to it eventually, we promise!

Next week: the third and final part of our Mad Max: Fury Road trilogy. Stay tuned...

Until then, feel free to follow us @ letswatchtwo on Twitter and email us at [email protected]!

For the first time in the history of this podcast, Maddy and Mary Ellen watched a movie whose greatness cannot be contained in just one episode. It can't even be contained in two episodes. For better or worse, the intrepid co-hosts of Let's Watch 2 Movies will be delivering a trinity of episodes about the cinematic masterpiece that is Mad Max: Fury Road. After that, they'll finally reach the movie with which they've paired it, which is Swiss Army Man. In this episode, we cite this video by Lindsay Ellis called "Planting and Payoff - Featuring Mad Max: Fury Road" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLLGN7zv-3k), as well as this post about how the movie's center-of-frame technique humanizes its characters (http://fandomsandfeminism.tumblr.com/post/121507326334/bonehandledknife-doctorscienceknowsfandom). Thanks for bearing with us as we detail every last facial expression that passes over Tom Hardy's illustrious visage.

Complicated female villains? That's our shit! Gone Girl and Hard Candy have been controversial with critics, but not so much with us... although we can certainly understand why these movies weren't a hit with everyone. Maddy and Mary Ellen kick off the pairing with a deep dive into Gone Girl, gender roles, marriage stereotypes, and the scourge of spermjacking that's haunted our society for generations.

Episode 13 seems like an appropriate time to watch something spooooookyyyy. How about The Witch (usually styled as The VVitch), a horror movie often hailed as a feminist masterpiece? Unfortunately, Mary Ellen and Maddy aren't sure that interpretation of the movie holds up on scrutiny, but this movie still has some great performances. Especially from Black Phillip. Oh, also, this was our first long-distance recording, so it's not as high-quality as it could be, but next week it'll sound a lot better because we figured out a better way to do it. Next week: EX MACHINA!

After last week's three-hour episode about The Dark Knight, this week's two-hour episode of analysis of The Prestige seems downright reasonable in length, doesn't it? Thank goodness for that, since Mary Ellen and Maddy had to watch both of these movies and record both episodes in one week, due to the way scheduling worked out. This was TOO MUCH NOLAN, folks. Don't try this at home. Anyway, now's a good time to subscribe if you haven't yet; our hosts aren't entirely sure when their next episode will be out, but once it is, you know you won't want to miss it!